The feral beast: Life beyond London

The longlist for the Orwell Prize for journalism includes two nominations for Standpoint, the high-minded magazine staffed and read by a tiny metropolitan elite. To give an idea, one of the office juniors is Martin Amis's son.

But the prize is meant to reward journalism "that communicates to a wide audience" and is "accessible to the public". Time to venture beyond the Circle Line, judges?

Self's canine caper

Will Self's brother Jonathan has been an actor, writer and journalist: now he is selling dog food. He and his partner, Vicky Marshall, have set up Darling's Real Dog Food, named after Self's pointer. The meat is organic and the biscuits made by a local baker. So there is life after journalism, after all.

No laughing matter

A story about Austrian choirboys in a sex scandal was naturally the Most Read on Times Online on Friday. It bore the byline Roger Boyes, an unfortunate name in the context, but he really is the paper's venerated Berlin correspondent. His name has been the butt (er...) of mirth before, so this time editors took pains to quell any schoolboy sniggering by flagging up his position (oh dear) by his byline.

Gospel according to...

Telegraph chief obits writer David Twiston-Davies said his adieus on Tuesday in the unlikely venue of St Peter's Church, Eaton Square. The one-time letters editor, who once handled an anthrax scare with military sangfroid, allowed himself a generous word count for his parting speech, praising the Gospels as the finest obituaries ever written. Although one of the old guard, he was joined by many younger colleagues, though none is thought to have live-blogged the occasion.

Song for Nightingale

The National Theatre is giving retiring Times critic Benedict Nightingale a farewell dinner, after Easter. Nightingale is standing down after 47 years, to be replaced by Libby Purves in June. His paper will also throw him a party. But why the National? Are they celebrating his departure, or mourning it?